Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Afam Obidike, has disclosed that over 100 babies were delivered in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in the state during the 2022 flood disaster.

Obidike, who stated this, yesterday, in Awka, the state capital, while taking delivery of about 1,212 Mama Kits, donated by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), expressed worry that many pregnant women vacated their homes for safety without packing their delivery kits.

According to him, UNICEF donated the kits to be distributed to nursing mothers and pregnant women in flood-prone areas of the state.

He said: “We will distribute it in flood-prone and hard-to-reach areas as incentives to encourage pregnant women to register for antenatal.

“This will also prevent and reduce maternal deaths in the state.”

The commissioner listed the items to include: olive oil, umbilical cord ligature, surgical knife, mackintosh, baby wrapper, laundry soap, gloves, cotton wool, small gauze etc.

He stressed that the state government is intensifying efforts to improve maternal health, and encouraging pregnant women to deliver at a health facility.